Drug Enforcement Administration

Guilty plea for man selling red tainted glassines of fentanyl

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Pablo Lugo III, 27, of Lockport, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of fentanyl. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan A. Tokash, who is handling the case, stated that on March 29, 2015, Lockport Police Officers responded to 152 Caledonia Street and found an individual, K.R., deceased. Officers recovered four reddish paper wrappers in the bathroom, one of which was tested at the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Laboratory and determined to contain fentanyl. An autopsy determined that K.R. died of acute fentanyl intoxication.

Text messages recovered from K.R.’s cellular phone revealed that on March 28, 2015, K.R. communicated with Lugo between 12:22 p.m. and 12:51 p.m. K.R. died shortly after the text message exchange. The defendant admits that K.R.’s death resulted from the drugs he gave to K.R.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Buffalo Resident Office, New York Field Division; the Niagara County Drug Enforcement Task Force; and the Lockport Police Department.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.